Another heinous incident has rocked Ecuador only a few weeks following a terrible massacre that took the lives of six people including the toddler. On Sunday, police found five dismembered human heads suspended with ropes on one of the major tourist beaches, fueling concerns of the rising gang violence in the nation.
The gruesome finding was reported in the local media according to police sources who discovered the body in Puerto Lopez, a province in the Manabian coastlines. Photos of the scene were rapidly shared on social media, depicting the dismembered heads hanging on ropes, and a handwritten sign was put on the spot. The police assume that the text was used as a caution to fishermen working in the region.
The note stated that AFP was the owner of the town. Continue mugging fishermen and confiscating vaccine cards, we already know who you are. The message, according to authorities, seems to be targeting criminal gangs who partake in the extortion of fishermen by showing them so-called vaccine cards that in the local language mean protection payments.
Researchers believe that the murders are connected with violent confrontations of the criminal gangs, which are competing to rule the area. Although the names of the victims are yet to be determined, police officers reported that the crime has the signs of organized crime trying to exert control and bring fear.
The event takes place in an outbreak of violence in Manabí province. Only a week ago, the beach and the same place called Puerto Lopez witnessed the shooting deaths of at least six people, including a child when the gunmen went on a shooting frenzy on the crowds. Several days later, another mass shooting at the New Year celebrations at a small port city called Manta resulted in the death of six other individuals including a minor.
The government officials attribute the recent bloodshed to the current conflict between the groups of criminals over the territorial resources and access to profitable drug-trade routes along the coast of Ecuador. Ecuador used to be regarded as a comparably safe country; however, after the significant increase in the number of organized criminals, people worry about the safety and the security of the populations in the country.
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